Shattered Smiles
by ivysaurusrex
Summary: Following the wishes of her sister, Alex Fujioka makes a promise to not get expelled from Ouran Academy. This proves not to be as easy as she thought upon getting dragged into Music Room Three. As she tries to adjust to their friendliness, bits and pieces of her nightmare inducing past resurface.
1. Chapter 1

"Alex, it's time to leave for school," I heard my sister, Haruhi, announce through my closed door.

"I'm up. I'm up," I replied from my bed in a half-asleep daze.

Deciding that I should get ready, I rolled off my comfy bed and onto the floor. I lied there for a few minutes until Haruhi decided to knock on my door.

"Get ready. I'll be leaving in ten minutes with or without you," she informed me while poking her head into my room. Upon seeing me on the floor and staring at the ceiling, the reached in and flipped the light switch.

"Son of a bitch! I was staring directly at the light!" I exclaimed, quickly sitting up and rubbing my eyes.

"Get ready, we leave in ten minutes," Haruhi chuckled, closing my door.

"Fuck you!" I yelled at the closed door but stood up anyways.

Stretching my limbs and ridding myself of any leftover sleep, I navigated around my mess of a room and to my closet.

My outfit was composed of the first things I pulled out of my closet. I wore a not so tight but supposed to be, red long sleeved shirt, a pair of grey skinny jeans, and my red sneakers. After checking my appearance in the full length mirror mounted onto a wall of my room, I adjusted my contacts and ran a brush through my hair before exiting my room.

Dad was still sleeping, so it was just Haruhi and me in the living room. Taking one look at how my sibling was dressed, I went straight to the bathroom. I emerged a few minutes later with a flat chest and and even roomier shirt.

"Why do you insist on looking like me when we aren't even blood related?" Haruhi asked when she saw me. I had used some bandages to bind my chest. It might not be the healthiest way to do it, but I figured I would not stay at school for more than an hour.

"You should probably know by now that I like to confuse people," I replied, picking my school bag up. My chest felt extremely restricted and breathing was difficult. "Damn, I gotta buy a binder later."

"Whatever. Now we've gotta go or we'll be late."

With that, she dragged me out the front door. I slid my iPod and ear buds out of my pockets and began listening to music.

By the time we arrived at Ouran Academy, we were already ten minutes late. Haruhi noticed this, grabbed me by my wrist, and proceeded to pull me down the empty hallways at a fast pace.

"For fuck's sake, Haruhi. Was it really necessary to make me run down the god damned hallway?!" I angrily questioned my sister. Sadly, though, I had yet to realize that we had an audience.

"Mr. Fujioka, would you please refrain from using that kind of language in my class," a voice kindly tried to order me.

"Oh fuck off, I wasn't talking to you," I responded in a snippy tone. Turning to face the person I was speaking to, I came face to face with the teacher. He seemed stunned by the fact that I spoke to him like that. Before any more words could be said, though, I was yanked into the hallway.

"I need to have a word with my brother," Haruhi explained as she closed the door. She spun to face me as though I was supposed to give her an excuse or apology.

"In all honesty, I do not feel like I should apologize," I started. "It's not like he should-"

"That's not it, Alex. That's just not it," Haruhi interrupted, pinching the bridge of her nose out of frustration. Removing her hand from her face, she continued, "Look, I'm thrilled that you're finally getting back to your old self. Hell, I wasn't even sure you would start talking again, but you did. The thing is, you need to start filtering what you want to say before you open your mouth. We got here on scholarships. They could kick us - you - out for reckless behavior. Please try not to do anything that could cause that to happen."

I let what she said sink in. I had yet to even think about getting my scholarship revoked. Last year of school, I was almost expelled more times than I can count. The only reason Ouran would take me in as a student is due to Haruhi. Might as well not get kicked out while I attend.

"Fine," I said with a sigh, "I promise to watch my language and not fight anybody."

"Good," Haruhi said, relieved.

"Hey, I wasn't finished. I promise not to do those things during school hours. After that, it's free game," I added on to my deal.

Haruhi seemed to think this over for a second before replying, "I guess that's as good of a promise I'm gonna get. Let's get back in the classroom before class ends."

I allowed her to grab my hand and pull me back into class. The teacher had decided to carry on with whatever he was teaching, but paused when when we set foot back into the room.

"Sorry about that," apologized Haruhi.

The teacher just waved us off and told us to take a seat. Unfortunately, the only open seats were on the opposite sides of the room. There was only one solution to this problem.

I walked to the vacant desk in the back as Haruhi went to sit between a pair of identical twins. Upon reaching my desk, I lifted the chair into the air and made my way towards Haruhi's desk.

"What do you think you are doing?" The teacher questioned.

I just placed the chair next to my sibling's, Sat in it Indian style, and began to copy what was on the board in a notebook.

The rest of my classes went by smoothly. I would somehow find a way to piss each teacher off. I'm pretty sure that, even if she wanted to, Haruhi couldn't be mad at me with how I handled each teacher. For example, one teacher had demanded that I turn my music off. My reaction was to blankly stare them dead in the eyes as I maxed out the volume on my iPod. I don't believe that I've seen my sister try so hard to suppress laughter before.

Now was our free period. Haruhi was dragging me through the school's libraries to study. Honestly, I have no idea why she wants to go ahead and and start burying her nose in books. The school year just began.

"Ugh, don't people know libraries are supposed to be quiet?!" She yelled, throwing her arms up. I simply shrugged in reply.

We started off towards the fourth, and final, library. I guess I got a little distracted by my music because when the song ended, I noticed I was without Haruhi.

Damn, must've turned down a hallway on accident. Oh well.

Picking a random direction, I walked until I had to climb a flight of stairs. Then, I was greeted with one of the best sights ever: the music hallway.

Approaching Music Room One, I heard people within the room and instantly walked away. Room two seemed quiet so I peeked into the room. Perfect, it's empty.

Once the doors had clicked shut behind me, I paused my music and removed the ear buds from my ears. I slid them into my back pockets as I explored the room. Mainly, there were orchestra instruments.

"Boring," I mumbled to myself. I was prepared to leave until something caught my eye. A piano.

Sitting myself down onto the piano's duet bench, I allowed my hands to hover over the keys. With a deep breath, my finger began to glide on top of the keys.

I have no idea how long I sat there. I just played the first songs to pop into my head, and when I ran out of those, I just pressed random keys to make a good sounding tune.

Once I could not think of another good tune, I brought my hands aways from the piano. Shockingly, there was an applause.

"Bravo! Wonderfully played!" a voice echoed, bringing life to the room.

I was genuinely startled, causing me to fling myself over the back of the bench. I landed on my back with a thud, and my head snapped towards the sound. There were six people in the doorway.

A tall blond with an apologetic look on his face - I assume he is the one who shouted started to walk over to me. I sat up quickly and slowly inched backwards. My heart was racing.

"Stop it, senpai!" a new voice commanded the blond. It was Haruhi. That put my nerves to rest somewhat, but I still had my guard up.

"So the two of you are honor students?" the bubbly blond, now known to me as Tamaki, asked.

We had moved into their club's room: Music Room Three. The six of them- Tamaki, Kyoya, Hani, Mori, Hikaru, and Kaoru- were gathered around Haruhi and me. After things died down in the other room, I had begun to hide behind Haruhi.

"As I have previously stated, Haruhi in on an academic scholarship, and his twin, Alex, is on a scholarship for the arts. More specifically, music," Tamaki's bespectacled sidekick read from his laptop. He was obviously searching through our school files.

"That's odd," Kyoya stated. The ginger twins had stopped pestering me in order to peek over Kyoya's shoulder.

"What is it, Kyo-chan?" Hani questioned from where he was eating an entire cake. His ability to do that baffles me.

"It seems as though someone has deleted the remainder of Alex's file," he answered the small blond. As soon as he said that, Haruhi glanced at me. I just shrugged, pretending that I have no idea what they are talking about.

"Never mind that, we have more important matters to discuss," Takami stated acting serious for probably the first time in his life. "Now, Haruhi Fujioka, how do you plan on paying for the vase you broke?"

My attention was caught by this. Slowly, I pulled my knees from my chest and sat up straight. I was curious as to what he was talking about.

"Oh, he didn't tell you? Your clumsy twin here knocked over a vase worth 8 million yen," two voices explained in unison. Hikaru and Kaoru had magically appeared next to me, slinging their arms over my shoulders.

Of course, their invasion of my personal bubble startled me, and I launched myself off the couch. This proved to not be as smart of a decision as I thought since I fell towards the coffee table conveniently placed between the two couches. My face collided with the edge of the table, stunning me. I guess my ear buds got ripped away from me during my fall because I could now hear everything clearly.

"You devil twins! What did you do?!" The alarmed voice of Tamaki could be heard over the other commotions in the room.

I sat in the floor with my legs under the table. My body was slightly curved over it and I could tell that something was wrong. There was some sort of substance dripping from my nose and onto the table. Bringing a hand up to my face, I pulled it away with a confused look and ignored all of the worries in the room. A red liquid glistened over my fingertips, and before I could process anything, a hand was thrown over my eyes.

"Will everybody shut their mouths!?" I could hear my sister shout angrily as everyone finally became silent. She had pressed a cloth to my face in order to stop what I had now registered as a nosebleed.

I felt very light headed as orders were thrown around the room by Haruhi. Feeling my body shutting down, everything faded as I slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

><p>Noise. That was the only thing I could grasp as I slowly began to regain consciousness. Actually, it wasn't even noise; it was music.<p>

"_Wide eyed, panic on the getaway_

_The high tide could take me so far away_," I took note of the song I was listening to. It was "Rainbow Veins" by Owl City. I guess this was Haruhi's way of telling me to relax.

I allowed the song to finish playing before opening my eyes. I was lying on a couch. Sitting up, I took in the appearance of the room around me. It was much smaller compared to the music room from before. There were various outfits strewn across it. A full length mirror sat next to a dresser in the corner.

I guess I better examine the damage I have caused myself yet again.

Still feeling slightly light headed, I staggered over to the mirror and took in my reflection.

There was no serious damage done. Well, nothing that I am not used to. My left eye had a little bruising around it, giving it the appearance of a black eye. The bridge of my nose was swollen, but not that much. Overall, I would say that I am in good shape.

I was about to turn away when something in the mirror caught my eye. My shirt was missing.

"Wow, you almost break your nose, pass out, and then forget to notice an article of clothing was missing from your body? Smooth, Alex. Just smooth," I told myself as I searched the room for my shirt.

After rummaging through the room a bit, I came to the conclusion that my shirt is lost forever. I sat in the floor with my back to the door, gently thumping my head against it. At least, I thought it was gently. Despite what I thought, I had alerted someone to the fact that I was awake. The only reason I knew this is because I heard a knocking over the music in my ears.

Opening the door just a tad without thinking, I am greeted by the face of Kyoya. He casually looks down a bit, and it was then that I realized I was still shirtless. I reach out, grab his sleeve, pull him into the room, and slam the door shut.

"So it seems as though you actually are a girl," he said, trying his best to look anywhere in the room but at me. I just stared at him. It was quite amusing to see Kyoya Ootori - well known for his lack of emotion - trying to keep his composure when it was obvious he was uncomfortable.

"I can also assume that you're mute, correct?" He questions as he finally gives up and looks me in the eye.

I shake my head in response as I fall back to sit on the arm of the couch. Kyoya looks confused and slightly angry but only for a split second. I guess he is not used to being wrong. As he brings his emotionless mask back up, he asks another question.

"You can talk?" He wonders, and I nod. "You're just selectively mute."

I just tap the tip of my nose to signal that he is correct this time. Kyoya stares at me and opens his mouth to ask me yet another question, but he pauses. I guess he has finally noticed the scars scattered here and there over my torso.

"I must get back to club duties. Your brother had asked me to check on you when you woke up," Kyoya explained. He turned around and began to rummage through the dresser's drawers. After a minute or two, he walked over and handed me two pieces of folded up clothing.

"This should be your size," was all he said before leaving the room.

Carefully, I unfolded the clothes and realized that he handed me a chest binder as well as a giant sweater. I stepped over towards the door and locked it before removing the bandages from my chest. Slipping into the binder, I found it easier to breath now than with my horrible binding skills. The sweater I was given was solid black and extremely baggy when I put it on. It hung off of one shoulder no matter how many times I fixed it, and it reached to the middle of my thighs.

"Whoever owns this sweater will not be getting it back, " I whispered to myself as I rolled the sleeves up. If you have not figured it out yet, I am in love with oversized long sleeved shirts.

I sigh to myself. I could either die of boredom in this empty room until Haruhi comes to get me, or… or I could actually go out and see what is going on. I pushed back my fears and opened the door.


	2. Chapter 2

The club was in full swing, meaning there was a lot of unfamiliar faces in the room. Closest to the door sat Kyoya upon a chair in front of one of the many large tables. Several feet away sat Tamaki, he was lounging on a couch with two girls on either side of him as well as three girls on the couch across from him. I noticed the twins on the other side of the room pretending to be in some kind of forbidden love with each other. At least, I think they were pretending.

I turned to my left and noticed that the path to the door was clear. Nobody has noticed me, so I should get out of here before someone does.

Slowly, I made my ways towards the door. I was about halfway there when I got distracted. There was a piano a few feet to my left. Not like that budget cut piano in the other room, but an actual grand piano.

"Hey, Takashi. Isn't that your sweater?" A cheery voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

Damn, I had forgotten all about him. Stupid piano; I had made a mistake in pausing to admire its beauty. Hastily, I picked up my pace towards the exit. The minute my hand closed around the doorknob, someone had grabbed my wrist. Deflated, I turned to see who prevented me from my escape.

"Come sit with us!" Hani practically ordered me, pulling me over to the table they were sitting at.

Once we reached our destination, I sat on one of the chairs and stared at my lap. That small scene caused almost everyone to focus their attention on me, seeing as I am unfamiliar. People began to whisper in wonder at who I am. I hit the volume button on my iPod until music drowned out the voices around me.

I jumped as someone tapped my shoulder. Bringing my head up, I noticed that Kyoya had walked over with a dye-erase board in hand. Giving it to me, he explained the reason behind it.

"Use this to talk with the guests. If we lose sales because you were being rude, it will be added onto Haruhi's debt," I read his lips as he spoke. He was no doubt talking with a monotone voice, though. This guy was almost as heartless as me.

I was about to show him a rude gesture that involves my middle finger, but he had walked off. With that, I turned to the group at the table and removed the marker's cap. I paused slightly before writing on the board.

"Got any questions?" I wrote on the board in my rushed handwriting. Obviously, they had questions. The girls at this table have not taken their eyes off of me since I appeared. The words upon the board launched them into action.

"How old are you?" The brunette on my right asked.

"Are you here on scholarship, too?" The black haired girl asked.

"Are you mute?" The redhead asked.

I held a hand up to halt their questions. Once they finally did stop, I wrote quickly on the board.

"Stop the interrogation! One question at a time; please and thank you," it read.

They giggled in response. What was funny?

I thought for a moment before writing answers in the order of the questions.

"I'm 16. Yes. Kinda," I wrote. The three seemed satisfied by the first two answers but confused by the last one.

"What do you mean?" Hani questioned. He looked just as confused as the girls.

I quickly jotted down two words,

"Selectively mute."

This seemed to peak their curiosity. Just before one of them could ask the question I dreaded, a voice reached my ears.

"I'm back!" Haruhi called out over all of the noise.

I turned to notice she was carrying three bags full of groceries. Quickly, to avoid any other questions, I walked over to help her. I took two of the bags and set them on the table closest to us.

"Thanks," she breathed. I assume those were the heaviest bags. That's odd, they did not seem heavy to me.

"You're welcome," I spoke, using my hands instead of my voice.

"Here, hold this one too," she ordered, shoving the remaining bag in my arms.

Curious as to what she was doing, I carefully watched her movements. Her hands wrapped around a strap going across her chest. My face broke out into a grin as I realized what it was.

"I stopped by the house to get this. Figured we would be here for a while ,and you need a distraction," she explained, trading me the object for the bag. "Sorry I didn't grab your electric; you left it at Rei's."

"Thanks, you're the best," I signed before putting the strap over my head.

"You play guitar?" A voice wondered, startling me.

I closed my eyes as my reflexes kicked in. Spinning around on the toes of my left foot, I shot my right fist out to punch the mystery person. When my fist hit empty air, I opened my eyes in confusion.

There stood Tamaki, with Haruhi's hand on his shoulder. The spot I went to hit was only a few centimeters from his face. If Haruhi had not been there to pull him out of the way, he would have received a broken nose.

I drew my hand back to my side as I realized what I was close to doing. The groups of girls as the closest table had seen everything and began whispering amongst themselves. I was on edge at the sudden attention. Needing to get out of there before I freaked out, I turned and started to leave, but Haruhi seized my hand and pulled me back.

"Hey, you're not going anywhere," she told me. "Why don't you play a song to calm down. I'm pretty sure everyone would love to hear you sing."

The guests and even the hosts began to nod in agreement. I shook my head; I did not really feel like singing at the moment. At least not in front of these people.

"Plus, depending on the song you choose, I could have enough time to put these things away. If I do, we can leave immediately afterwards," Haruhi informed me. I nodded enthusiastically. She just laughed at my sudden change of thought and walked off with the bags from the table.

I turned to face the crowd that had formed around the two of us. Taking a deep breath, I adjusted the guitar's strap around my body. I already had a song in my mind. Three minutes is enough time. Right?

I strummed the strings on my guitar and began to play the song's opening. After about ten seconds, I started to sing.

_"She held the world upon a string_  
><em>But she didn't ever hold me<em>  
><em>Spun the stars on her fingernails<em>  
><em>But it never made her happy<em>  
><em>Cause she couldn't ever have me<em>  
><em>She said she'd won the world at a carnival<em>  
><em>But she could never win me<em>  
><em>Cause she couldn't ever catch me"<em>, I sang, shaking my head as though I was saying no. Gasps could be heard. I guess some of the people did not know I could talk.

_"I, I know why  
>Because when I look in her eyes<br>I just see the sky  
>When I look in her eyes<br>Well I, just see the sky  
>I don't love you I'm just passing the time<br>You could love me if I knew how to lie  
>But who could love me?<br>I am out of my mind  
>Throwing a line out to sea<br>To see if I can catch a dream_," I scanned the crowd trying to read their expressions. Some were awe, others were… love? Ah well, it was probably infatuation. I ignored it and carried on with the song.

_"The sun was always in her eyes_

_She didn't even see me_

_But that girl had so much love_

_she'd wanna kiss you all the time_

_Yeah, she'd wanna kiss you all the time_

_"She said she won the world at a carnival_

_But I'm sure I didn't ruin her_

_Just made her more interesting_

_I'm sure I didn't ruin her_

_Just made her more interesting," I was positive I had gained everyone's attention by this point. I took a breath as I prepared to sing the last bit of the song._

_"I, I know why_

_Because when I look in her eyes_

_I just see the sky_

_When I look in her eyes_

_Well I, I just see the sky_

_"I don't love you I'm just passing the time  
>You could love me if I knew how to lie<br>But who could love me?  
>I am out of my mind<br>Throwing a line out to sea  
>To see if I can catch a dream,<em>" I ended the song after a few more notes.

Footsteps could be heard as Haruhi reappeared. I just ran over, grabbed her hand, and dragged her out of the room.

"I can't believe you made me do that!" I practically shouted at Haruhi as we made our way along the sidewalk.

She held up her hands in defense,

"I merely suggested that you sing."

"Well, you had to have known I would with the way you phrase it," I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest.

I turned left and began to walk down another road. Realizing that we were no longer heading in the direction of home, Haruhi spoke up,

"Where are we going?"

"The café. If you had been paying attention, you would've heard me say that five minutes ago," I replied as we stopped next to a crosswalk where the sign told us to wait.

"I clearly don't remember hearing those words coming from your mouth," Haruhi said. I thought back on it; I could've sworn I said it.

"Oh man, I think I had another moment where I thought I said something out loud, but I only said it in my head," I explained, slapping my hand against the my forehead. "Anyways, we're going to the café."

"But I thought you were off today?" she replied with a confused expression.

We began to cross the street.

"I am. I just need caffeine."

"You need sleep, not caffeine," Haruhi corrected me. I just stuck my tongue out at her in response.

"We're here!" I shouted with glee, causing a few people at the outside tables to look over and smile at me.

The cafe was fairly small. It had a brick exterior with a sign hanging over the door. The sign read "Rei's Café". Creative, I know. The inside was full of white tables and chairs that stood out against the grey walls and black floor. There was a stage in the back of the place for the live performances that made this place popular.

"Alex, you're here! I was just about to call you!" exclaimed the woman from behind the counter.

Her name was Rei. She was about five foot eight and always wore a cheerful smile. Rei had long black hair that was pulled back into a loose bun. Her brown eyes were full of happiness which to this day still baffles me.

"Yeah, I just got out of school. Dragged Haruhi here to get some coffee," I gestured to my sister, who trailed through the crowd behind me. It honestly was not difficult to reach the counter. People moved to the side once they recognized me.

"Hate to say this, but you've gotta work today. This place is too crowded for me to handle," Rei told me whilst taking someone's order.

"Sure, but could you still get Haruhi something?" I questioned. She replied with a nod of her head, and Haruhi sat down at our usual table.

I made my way towards the stage, gaining stares in the process. Once on stage, I replaced my acoustic guitar with the electric one that I had left here the last time I was here. I flicked the switch on all the speakers and amps. As I walked over to the laptop set up at the back of the stage, people began to shout questions to me.

"Why are you here?!"

"I thought you had school!"

"Whose shirt is that?!"

I chose my playlist on the laptop and went up to the mic.

"I'm here because you idiots are not capable of forming simple lines and instead crowd the place up. School is out for today. None of your business," I answered the questions in order. "So, who's ready to hold a concert?!"

Everyone in the building roared with excitement. I made a grab for the mic in order to move it, but the sweater's sleeves got in the way.

"Damn comfy sweater," I muttered under my breath. "Hey, Rei! Swap shirts with me!"

"What the hell?! Why would I do that?!" she shouted back at me.

"Because you love me," I responded. People in the crowd laughed at my request, but Rei traded shirts with me anyways. I was now wearing her white and black plaid shirt that I refused to button up. At least this binder Kyoya gave me had the appearance of a binder.

"Now, shall we get this concert started?" There were various shouts of "Yeah!" that rippled through the room. I rolled up my sleeves and hit play on the playlist. I played the part of guitar that was not on the tracks in my playlist. My voice rang out as the room became silent.

_"I fought it for a long time now  
>While drowning in a river of denial<br>I washed up, fixed up, picked up all my broken things  
>'Cause you left me, police tape, chalk line<br>Tequila shots in the dark scene of the crime  
>Suburban living with a feeling that I'm giving up<br>Everything for you_," I began to sing the first song on the two hour long playlist.

"Nice performance," Haruhi told me as I joined her at our table. She had begun working on her homework not too long ago.

"Thanks," I replied, sipping on my steaming hot coffee.

The cluttered mess of a crowd had died down immensely, meaning that it was okay for me to take a small break. Once I was ready to play again, I planned on taking requests. It was not required for me to do so, but I feel that the people in here need a chance to choose a song they love and or relate to.

I spent the next five minutes playing different games on my iPod. Standing up, I stretched my back, earning a few pops here and there. Before, I could make it to the stage, though, the door opened, and I glanced at the new faces.

"What the fuck are they doing here?" I questioned quietly. Haruhi looked over to see who I was talking about and dropped her pencil in surprise. They just walked up to the counter, not taking notice of us.

"You sure this is the place, Hani-senpai?" two voices wondered together.

"Positive," a cheery voice replied.

"Welcome to Rei's Café! How may I help you?" Rei asked as she turned around from facing the coffee maker. When she looked at them, recognition flickered across her face. "Hey, Alex! These guys go to the same school as you and Haruhi!"


End file.
